The POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

SINGAPORE -- POCO has unveiled yet another "flagship killer" as it launched its F7 series smartphones at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center on Thursday.

The brand, which is part of the Xiaomi family, launched the F7 Pro and the F7 Ultra, both of which feature chipsets that used to be found only in flagships, but with substantially lower prices.

The F7 Ultra features the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is the same SOC used in the most premium phones out on the market right now--from the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and the HONOR Magic7 Pro.

But while these flagship phones typically start at around the P50k price point, POCO's own take on an 'Ultra' phone boasts of a more wallet-friendly price range.  

The POCO F7 Ultra with 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage will sell for P39,999 with an early bird promo price of P37,999. A 12GB + 256 GB configuration is even cheaper at P36,999 with an early bird promo that further pushes the price down to P34,999. This is likely the most affordable smartphone that uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset right now.

POCO Global's Head of Marketing, Angus Ng unveils the POCO F7 Series. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Meanwhile, the POCO F7 Pro uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset which powers flagships from last year-- including the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra. Its 12GB + 512 GB variant will sell for P29,999 with an early bird promo price of just P25,99. The 12 GB + 256 GB variant meanwhile will sell for P27,999 with an early bird promo price of just P24,999.

This is also likely the cheapest smartphone running last year's flagship chipset. While the F7 may be using a chipset that's not the latest and greatest, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is still a very capable platform.

"By blending flagship features with exceptional pricing, the launch of POCO F7 Ultra and POCO F7 Pro marks a significant leap forward, reflecting our commitment to continuously refreshing the user experience and empowering users to maximize their potential in work, play, and creativity," said Angus Ng, Head of Product Marketing at POCO Global.

Both the Pro and Ultra share the same design--they have gloss-matte back covers, and both have an off-center circular camera module. Both the F7 Pro and F7 Ultra also have: 

- a 6.67-inch 2K display that can run up to 120Hz

- 50MP main camera with OIS

- IP68 dust and water resistance

- Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor and AI Face Unlock

But there are also some key differences between the Ultra and Pro. The Ultra has a 32MP ultrawide camera, while the Pro's ultrawide is just 8MP. More importantly, the Ultra has 50MP floating telephoto camera while the Pro has none.

The Ultra's front camera is also 32MP, while the Pro is 20MP. The Ultra has 120W HyperCharge and 50W wireless HyperCharge features, while the Pro has 90W HyperCharge. 

Strangely though, the F7 Pro has a much bigger 6,000 mAh battery, while the F7 Ultra has a lower-capacity 5,300 mAh.

POCO said it has upgraded its cameras after receiving comments from tech reviewers that the brand's high-performance handsets are paired with cameras that don't quite live up to the flagship chipsets. Tech journalists and influencers were invited to shoot a few popular spots in Singapore. Here are some of sample photos:  

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News

Photo taken with the POCO F7 Ultra. Arthur Fuentes, ABS-CBN News